Microsoft posts strong revenue on Windows 7 success

Microsoft ended a string of disappointing quarterly financial results yesterday, as it announced the numbers for its second quarter of fiscal 2010 yesterday, which ended on December 31 2009. Fueled by a strong demand for Windows 7 and well-managed costs, the company saw a 14% jump in revenue to just over $19 billion, while profit rose an astounding 60% to 6.6 billion.

The Windows division alone was responsible for $6.9 billion in sales revenue. Of course that figure includes all currently supported versions of the operating system, but Microsoft said more than 60 million Windows 7 licenses were sold in the three-month period, making it the fastest-selling operating system of all time. Certainly a significant achievement considering it was released in a relatively shaky economic climate.

Its Business Division also surpassed market estimates and posted $4.7 billion in revenues. However, this was still a 2.8% decline over the same period last year. Online services dropped 4.6%, despite Bing's rise in market share, while the entertainment and devices unit responsible for the Xbox saw revenue fall 11%.